The Dark Realms of Pluto
by NeoVenus22
Summary: In her desolate castle, Sailorpluto witnesses the fall of the Silver Millennium. In the same series as 'The Bright Horizons of Venus'. [complete]


Heyza. This is another in the same series as "Bright Horizons of Venus", so if you read that, you know what's up.  
If not, this is set at the time of the fall of the Moon Kingdom in the Silver Millennium. The original plan was to have four stories outlining Beryl's attack from the perspectives of each of the inner senshi as they battled with their lover (aka one of Endymion's generals).  
As a complete sign of randomness, instead of doing the first three stories in the series, I instead did this. Not only does it center around Sailorpluto, but it's also in first-person. Shocking!  
Oh well. Read...review...enjoy!  
Disclaimer: Sailormoon & its characters belong respectively to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha comics, Toei Animation, and other people. *They* own *me*. No sue!  
  
***  
  
"Setsuna-hime!" a frantic voice yelled from the other side of my bedroom door. "Setsuna-hime, hurry!"  
  
Without time for questions, I leapt from my bed and donned my robe, a pretty emerald-green silk one that Michiru from Neptune had made me for my birthday.  
  
One of my handmaidens was standing out in the hall, looking panicked. She was in various states of morning disarray, clearly interrupted from her routine by something monstrous.  
  
"Yuri-chan?" I started to say. "Nani? What's wrong?"  
  
She grabbed my hand and started to lead me down one of the long hallways winding throughout Charon Castle. Lastly she came to the observatory, my favorite room, one that also led to the Time Gate, albeit Yuri didn't know of the secret entrance. She, like the others, was under the assumption that the entrance to the Gate of Space and Time was located in the queen's own Moon Palace, which was only partially true. The entrance there was a main one, intended specially for the use of the royal family. This particular one was a side entrance, a hidden entrance, only accessible to those with the blood of Pluto flowing through their veins.  
  
"There, look!" Yuri cried in desperation, swinging the telescope around to face the whole of the Solar System.  
  
Or so I thought. From this particular view, I was seeing nothing but blackness. A vast, endless dark.  
  
"Yuri-chan, you're not facing in the right direction," I said with a light laugh, but even as I forced cheerfulness and lightness on my handmaiden, something clicked in my brain. Something wasn't right.  
  
There wouldn't be just darkness in the sky, even if I couldn't see my other planets. There would be stars, millions of stars glittering. But there was not.  
  
The observatory was a complete circular dome on top of Charon Castle, with a solid window stretching the whole circumference. I spun around slowly, taking it all in. On the one side of me was the same view of the end of Sol as I always saw: an endless carpeting of stars. On the other side was the blackness...no, wait, a singular speck of light shown in the dark.  
  
The moon.  
  
"Serenity's in trouble!" I cried out in alarm. My henshin had a calming effect on me, and I turned to Yuri seriously. "I'm going to teleport to the moon," I informed her. "Alert the people of Pluto of my absense, and I hate to say it, but...prepare for the worst."  
  
Yuri could only nod. I think she realized the implications. I smiled at her, but as I faced the solar system again, my face was grim.  
  
And with good cause. When I arrived on the moon, I was surprised at what I found. The Palace was crumbling on one side, flames lapping at its corrupted structure. Littering the ground about it, between the circles of fire, were bodies...some burning, some already ash, some disfigured in such ways you knew they'd been struck by supernatural forces.  
  
I scanned the area for my fellow senshi. Faintly, in the distance, I heard the weakening cry of "Fire soul!" Fear gripping my heart, I ran to the source of the voice, and found the raven-haired senshi of fire surrounded by the other inner senshi. They were forming a semi-circle around a sobbing Serenity, and I stepped close enough to see and not be seen.  
  
The inner senshi, minus Sailorvenus, oddly, were forming a fighting barrier around their princess, faces wan and tired, fuku tattered, hair singed, powers ebbing. The pain that stood out on their face was more emotional than physical, however, and as I turned to look at their adversaries, I saw why. They were facing off against Endymion's four generals, the senshi's lovers.  
  
I turned my gaze to Serenity. Her soot-stained dress clung to her young figure, which was crumpled on the ground over a body...my heart leapt into my throat as I recognized the noble cape, the sharp chin, and the dark hair.  
  
Endymion.  
  
I wanted to cry out, to run there, to cry over him with her. But I had always kept my emotions to myself, and my feelings for the Earth Prince a complete secret. I knew the travesty that would arise should Serenity ever find out my affection for her lover was more than platonic respect.  
  
It was then that the battle had become personal. I aimed my Staff at Endyminion's assailants, his former followers, rage blinding my vision. A gentle, nonthreatening pressure on my shoulder made me drop it.  
  
"Pluto." The voice was deep, but feminine. A voice I didn't hear too often, but truth be told, I rarely saw the rest of the planetary court with my duties at the Gates.  
  
"Uranus," I guessed, not a blind one. I turned to her, sandy hair fluttering in the breeze in time with her navy fuku. Sailorneptune stood at her side, and the two looked oddly in place with a tableau of destruction. "This is a battle for the inner senshi," the soldier of wind and sky informed me, and I knew she was right.  
  
I looked over my shoulder at Endymion's beautifully sad corpse. A thousand emotions gripped at my heart, but I kept my voice steady as I spoke. "We've failed."  
  
"No." It was Neptune who spoke now. "Our mission is to protect the Kingdom from outside forces, and Beryl and her minions come straight from the Earth. It is the duty of the inners to fight for Serenity."  
  
I wondered how she could be so callous about this, how she could be so detached from it and so uncaring. But it occured to me, not without bitterness, that she didn't feel the pain that I or Serenity or any of the Inner Senshi felt. For her love was right beside her, and would remain so, even in death.  
  
"Setsuna-san, come with us," Uranus said in a tone that was eerily calm.  
  
It was torturous. The senshi in me wanted to stay and fight. The princess in me wanted to go back and protect my planet. But I knew neither option was in my destiny. For I, and I alone, was different from the others. I had different responsibilities.  
  
Part of the castle wall before me had fallen away, and I crawled through the space it provided, unnoticed. My black boots clicked on the marble floors as I made my way to the throne room.  
  
Selenity was inside, a concerned Luna and Artemis at her feet. Only I was old enough to remember when a human Luna and Artemis were specially selected from the planet Mau to come to the Kingdom to guard the newborn princess.  
  
The queen looked up, and a smile, no matter how faint, crossed her face. "Pluto. You know your role."  
  
"Can't I help?" I pleaded. "Can't I stay and fight?"  
  
She shook her head, lilac-colored ponytails swaying lightly. "I'm afraid not, Pluto, dear."  
  
She didn't want to say any more; nor did she have to. I understood what a trying time this was for her, to see her kingdom go up in flames, to see all of her friends and her beloved daughter meet a gruesome fate.  
  
Despite myself, I was not filled with remorse. I had no family, the lone ruler of a lonely planet. My only friends were the senshi, comrades only for our shared destinies.  
  
And as always, my destiny was much different.  
  
With a resigned sigh, I nodded, and went to the Gates.  
  
From there I had the freedom of watching everything. Sailormercury was the first to go down, a gash outlining her lithe young body from her armpit folds down to the heel of her boot.  
  
Sailormars had gone second, her left arm broken at a gruesome angle. Beside her was Sailorjupiter, blood splattering her face.  
  
Buried deep in one of the secret catacombs of the palace was Sailorvenus, who had gone down fighting Kunzite. Her attacking wrist was patterned with deep cuts.  
  
The most sickening and heartwrenching of all, however, was Serenity-hime herself, impaled on Endymion's sword as her cold body lay crumpled next to his.  
  
Tears stung the backs of my eyes as I saw my friends, my fellow senshi, in this horrific state. I watched as Queen Selenity used the last of her strength, the last of her power, to transport the senshi to what we could only hope was a peaceful future on Earth.  
  
Alone, in this dull expanse where Time had no effect and no one could see my pain, I cried. 


End file.
